Create Trusted Cyber Space to drive Thailand to prevent cyber threats
“The NCPO must make the country and agencies have low risk or if damage occurs, must minimize the impact based on the understanding that the risk from cyber threats is never zero. It is like a fire. No matter how many firefighters there are, it does not mean that there will be no fire. But when there is a fire, every building has a fire suppression system ready. The cyber world needs the same.”
The key variable in driving the digital economy to grow is the development of technology that helps people's lives become more convenient. But on the other hand, the more the digital economy grows, the more the digital world becomes a target for criminals or dark hackers who find loopholes to attack and exploit in the form of various cyber threats.
bank finance Had a special interview Air Vice Marshal Amorn Chomchai Secretary-General of the National Cyber Security Commission (National Assembly) Regarding the overview of cyber threats in Thailand and the trends of cyber threats in 2568, as well as the roles, duties and vision of the NCPO in implementing the plan to deal with cyber threats in the future of Thailand.
Digital economy grows, cyber threats follow
More than damaged 80,000 million baht
Air Vice Marshal Amorn began his special interview by saying that Thailand is one of the countries with the fastest growth of the digital economy. Currently, Thailand has GDP from the digital economy of around 15% and has the opportunity to increase to 20% in the future. The fact that the digital economy has a high proportion of GDP means that the lives of Thai people will have to rely more on digital technology in their daily lives.
“Today, only a small proportion of the Thai population does not have access to the internet. There are many smartphone options. Network providers can distribute 5G signals covering more than 95% of the country. In addition, there are mobile banking applications that are among the best in the world. This is a good thing that creates opportunities for Thais to easily access technology, but it also opens up an easy way for criminals to attack.”
The Secretary-General of the NBTC provided information that threats to the digital economy consist of 2 main forms:
-
- Threats targeting public service systems For example, hacking into various agencies' websites to advertise gambling websites, planting malware, and demanding ransom. Ransomware attacks are still a popular threat. Currently, there is a development in the form of intimidation. If the victim does not pay the ransom, they will threaten to reveal confidential information or inform the user that the system is not secure in order to cause damage and pressure them to pay the ransom.
- Cyber threats to the general public The main reason is that people have easy and fast access to technology, but lack the knowledge and understanding of how to use it safely. In addition, the development of technology that facilitates online transactions has made it easier for criminals to deceive people.
For the value of cyber-attack damage, from statistics collected since the establishment of the website thaipoliceonline.go.th, the total is 80,000 billion baht, divided into fraud types according to the value of damage as follows:
-
- Investment Fraud There is a high damage value of up to 30,000 billion baht, such as deceiving to invest in various assets on websites or platforms that are not under the supervision of domestic agencies or deceiving to invest in pyramid schemes.
- Online Job Scams There is damage worth 20,000 billion baht, such as being tricked into watching videos and collecting membership fees, but not actually receiving income.
- Threats There is damage worth 10,000 billion baht, such as pretending to be a police officer, issuing an arrest warrant, and forcing the victim to transfer money.
- Common scams There is a damage value of 5,000 billion baht, such as tricking people into transferring money, buying products but not sending them. This type of fraud, although it is worth less, has the largest number of cases.
The rest are other forms of scams, such as romance scams or gambling scams.
Air Vice Marshal Amorn said that in 2567, the public and private sectors will give strict importance to dealing with cyber threats, which will reduce the likelihood of cyber threats. However, some types of threats, such as Romance Scams, still need to be monitored because victims often do not disclose information until damage occurs. Therefore, in addition to government measures, the public needs to be aware of scams and always think that cyber threats are close at hand.
“The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) ranked Thailand as the 7th country in the world in terms of cybersecurity out of 194 countries, considering many factors such as laws, technology, organizations, human resource development, and international cooperation. The NCTC plays an important role in promoting cooperation from all sectors, both domestically and internationally, to enhance the country’s cybersecurity.”
Keep an eye on technological developments AI
Recommend that organizations use it responsibly
Air Vice Marshal Amorn said that Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is a technology that is playing a very important role in the digital economy. Currently, the NBTC has been closely studying the development of AI because the arrival of AI has caused changes to business organizations in Thailand in many ways, leading to concerns in 2 main issues:
-
- Non-Using Organizations AI : This is a group of concern because most organizations are using AI to increase their competitive efficiency, reduce the time of various processes, and use AI to detect cyber threats today. This results in a growing gap between organizations that use AI and those that do not.
- 2. Organizations that use AI carelessly: AI adoption can greatly enhance an organization’s potential, but if used carelessly, it can also cause damage, especially in terms of cybersecurity risks, such as organizations using sensitive customer data for free AI services without being aware of customer data privacy, resulting in data leaks, which hackers or criminals can use to exploit the leaked data to commit cyber threats.
Air Vice Marshal Amorn commented that in the future, organizations may need to have regulations or measures for using AI, such as detecting employees' use of AI, creating programs to limit access to certain types of AI that may cause data leaks, and checking the data that employees use to see if it is sensitive or confidential to the organization, similar to checking employee emails in the past.
The benefits of using AI to protect against cyber threats can be done in many forms, such as using AI to detect new and complex threats, using Penetration Testing to find vulnerabilities to reduce system testing time, using AI to help prevent Chaining Attacks, and implementing Zero Trust Security principles by using AI to help analyze and identify devices accessing the system and distinguish suspicious users.
“Today, we are using AI to help prevent a variety of attacks, more than just using AI to tell if a file is safe or not. Therefore, AI in the role of Cyber Security is just as important as other aspects, but it should be used with caution and responsibility.”
However, it is difficult to set rules for AI use that are appropriate for all parties. All levels of AI users need to understand the purpose, benefits, responsibilities, and risks of using AI in order to set a framework for its maximum benefit.
Air Vice Marshal Amorn added that in addition to AI, the next thing to watch out for is the advancement of quantum computing technology, which is expected to start in the next 5 years, as quantum computing will directly affect current encryption technology. In addition, watch out for potential threats from damage to submarine cables, as Thailand still relies on internet from abroad. If there is a problem with the submarine cables, it could have a wide impact.
Driving the vision 3 main core
Building a cybersecurity ecosystem
Air Vice Marshal Amorn said the NCCC has a primary duty to oversee Thailand’s cyber security, from monitoring, warning of threats, and assisting agencies in assessing risks, to promoting proper data backup.
“The NCPO must make the country and various agencies have low risk or if damage occurs, must minimize the impact based on the understanding that the risk from cyber threats will never be zero. It is like a fire. No matter how many firefighters there are, it does not mean that there will be no fire. But when a fire occurs, every building has a fire suppression system ready. The cyber world needs the same.”
Air Vice Marshal Amorn explained that the main vision of the NBTC will focus on 3 main pillars:Save, Secure, Trusted Cyber Space"Save means that the lives of Thai citizens must be safe. Secure means that the systems in the country are safe. Trusted Cyber Space is the ultimate goal that society can trust in the cyber world. Because if we want freedom in the cyber world, the important thing is to know how to protect ourselves. All three axes will be driven under the 3-area action plan:
Create a national cybersecurity ecosystem: Promote the development of domestic cyber software, systems and personnel to reduce reliance on foreign technology and encourage domestic agencies and organizations to have more options, such as developing open source software into Thai systems.
In terms of human resource development, we will look at the big picture of Thailand's population structure, which has a declining birth rate. Therefore, we need to attract a small number of future workers to the Thai labor market. We will also encourage agencies to accept more workers to create cyber needs in the labor market, along with re-skilling and up-skilling the domestic workforce.
“The ecosystem must be able to be applied to all sectors to develop software, systems, and labor to stay in Thailand. It is not just about creating a curriculum with educational institutions or just organizing training for various agencies to send employees to listen to lectures for a few days. But we must look at the necessity of what the country still lacks, where are its weaknesses, and then choose to develop to close those weaknesses as much as possible.”
In developing the ecosystem of the NBTC, there will be operations in many areas. There are areas that the law gives the authority to create, areas that require additional mechanisms, areas that require changes to existing ones, and areas that require finding partners to work together. All of these areas cover both government and private agencies.
2. Increase the readiness of the country's information system. : Focus on taking care of Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) units to be stable, safe and ready to deal with threats because it is an important part of the lives of Thai people.
“Today, an internet outage of just 1 minute can cause widespread damage, which can be estimated at a huge cost. Therefore, the Critical Information Infrastructure must always be ready. Therefore, the NBTC must systematically work with relevant agencies in terms of policy-making, supervision, and monitoring as required by law.”
3. Promote cooperation between agencies: Many operations are not fully carried out by the NBTC on its own, both in terms of budget and scope of duties. Therefore, cooperation between agencies, both domestic and international, is required to drive them forward.
“The NBTC is a new organization. It is difficult to do everything by itself. However, promoting cooperation in a win-win manner will help answer the question of creating an ecosystem that requires Thailand to have strong technology and have options to access a variety of technologies at a lower cost.”
4. Set standards for corporate governance. : Create Cyber Security standards for all agencies in the country to have the same standards, and also raise the level of knowledge and understanding of the public to understand and be more aware of cyber threats.
This includes the creation of new technology standards, such as the standards for electric vehicles (EVs), which are cars that have a computer system as the core of their use, making them able to be attacked by malicious people just like regular computers, and may cause damage to the lives of drivers. In addition, it also looks at the creation of energy technology standards.
“The NCTC is an agency that has the ability to help with technology in many aspects. Therefore, there is no deadline that if we see any matter that is beyond the NCTC’s main duties, we will not take action. However, if we see the necessity, the NCTC will provide full assistance to ensure that the cyber ecosystem in Thailand is as safe and independent as possible because Save, Secure, Trusted Cyber Space is a vision that is not just designed to protect anyone or any agency, but must protect all Thai citizens.”
Follow and read other columns in the Bank Finance Journal, April 2568, Issue 516 in digital format: https://goo.gl/U6OnIi
Including channels for ordering banking and finance journals Both current and past editions Complete in one place: https://moneyandbanking.co.th/2023/18250/
